Collapsible garment hangers are well known. Many individuals have attempted to make an easy to use and affordable type of hanger for mass production and consumption. Several designs have been patented as set out below.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,137,700, F. W. Reehl discloses a garment hanger with two pivoted arms with respect to one another under the control of a tensioner that tends to spread the arms from a partially closed or collapsed position into a garment supporting position. Reehl's tensioner acts to collapse the arms when pressure is applied thereto.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,728,499, H. F. Mueller discloses a garment hanger with two arms pivoted at their midpoint. The type of hanger proposed by Mueller is complex and does not allow for single hand use to collapse and to restore the hanger shape for use.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,926,823, M. Weiser discloses a garment hanger with at least one separable shoulder portion for use with garments having small or restricted tops or hanger receiving openings. This type of hanger is not adapted for single hand use and has a somewhat complex mode of operation.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,531,028, F. B. Vazquez discloses a collapsible clothes hanger having arms that may be flexed to an unfolded position for hanging garments or to a folded position for storage when the hanger is not in use. This type of hanger requires the action of two hands to fold and unfold and does not include biasing means to position the arms into position for use in hanging garment.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,227,632, J. H. Collis discloses a flexible garment hanger formed of a one-pieced, molded plastic-like material with several flexible hinges. There is found a locking bar below the body of the hanger secured to both arms by means of similar flexible hinges and a stop member projecting medially from the locking bar with two additional flexible hinges. This type of hanger requires two hands to operate and does not allow the hanger shoulder members to open automatically once the hanger has been inserted in the piece of garment.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,581, R. M. LaMont discloses a unitary collapsible hanger formed of plastic that includes hinged locking hanger arms attached to a hook by plastic hinges. LaMont includes a C-shaped spring element. This type of hanger when in a collapsed position has a spring which is in its relaxed configuration and the pivot is disposed below the spring hinges. When his hanger is in the garment supporting position, the pivot is above the spring hinges and engages a stop member so that bearing surfaces engage shoulders of the stop member to lock the hanger in its garment supporting position. This type of hanger has many pivot points which increase the possibility of breakage and is further not adapted for single hand use.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,590,823, Lunde discloses a collapsible garment hanger which includes a hook, a first and second tensioning element which extend from the hook, the first and second tensioning elements being terminated with a first and second distal tip, respectively. A first and second shoulder element each having a first end and a substantial middle region, the first ends of the first and second shoulder elements being pivotally connected and rotate in relation to each other, the substantially middle region of the first and second shoulder elements having a hole which accepts the first and second distal tips, respectively. The first and second shoulder elements pivot in relation to the first and second tensioning elements, respectively. With this type of hanger the user must grasp both first and second tensioning elements and compress them toward each other to force the first and second shoulder elements into a collapsed position for insertion or removal from a small opening in a garment. However, Lunde fails to mention that the pin does not prevent the hanger for folding in the wrong position.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,979,721 J. A. Curtis discloses a garment hanger having downwardly foldable, pivoted arms uses a spring between the pivoted arms which is compressed when the pivoted arms are in an operative position and a preferably slidable switch/control latch to control off-axis movement of a central portion of the spring to positively control movement of the pivoted arms between an operative position and a folded position and vice-versa. This hanger is cumbersome and the slideble latch is inconvenient for the operation.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,540,121 K. A. Harvey discloses collapsible hanger is which is a one-piece molded structure that includes a hook, two arms, at least one spring element, and in some versions, a base. The various hangers provided by Harvey are too flimsy to support a garment with a substantial weight while those adapted to hold substantial weight can not be operated with one hand.
In U.S. Pat. Des. 271,927 N.M. Payant discloses a folding garment hanger. However this hanger is not adapted for single hand use.
In light of the state of the art of collapsible garment hangers, there is still a need for an inexpensive collapsible hanger which has a simple mechanism preferably operable by a single hand and which is cheap to manufacture.
It is therefore a primary object of the invention to provide such a hanger. Further and other objects of the invention will become apparent to one skilled in the art when considering the following summary of the invention and the more detailed description of the preferred embodiment illustrated herein.